Remember The Apple when dealing With People

I have may latest copy of  LP Magazine (March April 2011) and as always it is full of  excellent articles and idea about loss prevention -- this month dealing with loss prevention in Mexico and one of the first  ad I cam to was one with the heading" Finding bad applies has never been easier"  promoting a software suite.  And that is true if the programs are used  properly, But the advertisement also raised another point. And that is about detecting bad apples when dealing with them face to face.

Some of the these people are of courser easy to detect -- but like that  worm hiding deep within a nice shiny delicious looking apple it is sometimes a little difficult to detect  the worm in the person's. personality  Even after you have known a person for sometime it can take a long time for that to emerged.

To help you stay aware  and on top of your game  in being able to detect this  pick up  -- and study -- and apply some of the books you can find on "reading people.  There are also some excellent tips that are published on magazine like Psychology Today  on this topic.   Just remember that the tips you will learn here have to be used with balance --very carefully, before making any decisions about people

Can You Analyze the Scene Quickly?

Recently  the Insurance Corporation of BC  which  insures  most of the vehicles on the roads here in BC and controls the release of vehicle licence plates  ran a series of newspaper and television ads which  gave you a driver's perspective  of a vehicle approaching a  --  busy -- street intersection with the question:  "Can you see the youth (or other person) racing across the street?" This person  of course was partially obscured by other pedestrians standing at the intersection as well as other vehicles maneuvering through this area.


The message of  was  that drivers need to be aware of what is going on around them at all times and be able to act quickly to avoid killing somebody else who makes a mistake. And that is not easy if you are going too fast or not paying attention!


Of course that is not only something we all need to do while driving but at all times.  Get in the habit of staying aware of your surroundings and quickly analyzing and acting on what you see. Make a habit of doing this.


It is really amazing how many persons do not.  They look yes -- but do they really see what is happening around them?   NO!


(Incidentally,  if this is something you could improve on there are some good books for writers published that can help you to develop this scene or picture skill even  in the comfort of your own home.  Typically they  give you a series of pictures like say a flower in a vase standing alone on a table, an unmade bed, a dark lane on a rainy evening, etc and ask you to write what you see.  It can be a very enjoyable way to help develop these scene analyzing skills and  idea composing skills at the same time.)

Stand Or Die!

Well, I guess it is not quite that bad but according to some medical researchers sitting for long periods of time as typically done by many office workers -- or security officers -- could be dangerous to your health.

The latest warning has appeared in the  "West Coast News" section of the Vancouver Sun  Saturday, March 19 in the article "Sedentary workers would benefit from standing up for their health" by Denise Ryan.

According to Ryan, experts claim that sitting for long periods of time is the "new smoking" because of the disastrous physiological responses it causes in your body.

Apparently these responses can cause  chronic disease and premature because of the way they affect glucose tolerance and blood lipids among other things.

It is really quite serious a problem because although most of us never think of things like this medical experts like Dr. Mark Tremblay of Children Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa On  warns that while you are sitting down for 5 to 9 hours a day (average for Canadian workers)  your body shuts down.

And you can not make up for these long sedentary hours simply by  remaining slim, because it affects everyone - obese and slender people  or by running to the gym for a an hour a day after work.

According to this and other  articles,  the only way to overcome this threat to your health is by getting up and walking around every half hour or by working at a stand up desk which are becoming more popular.

You can find more information on this topic in the Vancouver Sun March 19, 2011. Click on vancouversun.com

Don't Forget These Cell Phone Dangers If You Own A Business!

There have been many debates about the possible radiation dangers of cell phones and that is something you want to keep in mind and take precautions to minimize the dangers -- particularly if you use your phone often   or for  long periods of time  But if you own a business or are responsible for protecting a company's confidential information there is another danger you should never forget.


That is the stealing of information through cell phones. According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine  Zeitung back in 2004 (You can imagine how much this threat has grown since that time.)  many companies were alarmed at the potential of cell phones as espionage tools because first of all unethical employees or other persons could easily photograph classified  information to sell to competing companies. And even if they are caught often they have already transmitted pictures containing this information to their clients before they are apprehended.


Because of this you might want to ban the use of such phones in security sensitive areas such as design and   product testing departments if you don't do this already.


And on a personal level you don't want to leave your driver's licence and other cards containing personal information lying open,  or in pouches that are easy to open, within easy access by persons you do not know. It would be very easy for anybody (and you would be surprised at who the identity thieves are sometimes) to photograph with their cell phones --  or even copy with the old fashioned pencil or pen.

Make A Quick Check Back

There are certain malls here in Vancouver B.C. where somebody seems to be getting into my car after I park it - even when I am sure that Ihad  locked the doors.

Just today after parking in the underground parkade of a local supermarket I decided to check out my theory that in this parkade  for some reason my van was being broken into (likely by a person with one of devices tow truck drivers use when you lock your keys inside).

Sure enough, when I got back to the van about 10 minutes after I parked I found the front door button up although I had made sure that I pushed the locking button down as I was getting out.  

I didn't see anybody around the car this time, but from now on in the parkade I will check sooner as well as take a quick walk around vehicles parked nearby to see if I see anybody suspicious sitting in one of them.  And of course I'll make sure that I leave nothing valuable where it can be grabbed easily.

Maybe someone will come up with some type of video monitor and sensor that could transmit a signal to your cell phone --complete with a picture of the culprit in the meantime just be careful too. Remember to check back on your vehicle after leaving it in suspect areas. You just might catch some thief in the act of breaking into your vehicle.

Academic warns of unnecessary potassium iodide intake

Academic warns of unnecessary potassium iodide intake

How Effective Is Your Fire Alarm in Waking Young Children?

Would your young children wake up to the sound of a fire alarm -- and know what to do?


As reported  in the Epoch  News  March 13, 2011 really young children can often sleep right through a 3 minute fire alarm according Dr. Dorothy Bruck of Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.


In her study of 123 children only 27 children were awakened by the alarm  and only 47 percent of them knew they had to flee the house.


In addition to this, researchers were alarmed by the fact that 87 percent of children between 5 to 10 years of age did not wake up to the alarm at all.


For the complete feature  on the topic "Most Children Don't Wake Up to Smoke Alarms" by Stephanie Lam, an Epoch Times  staff writer  click on www.epochtimes.com